By the end of the nineteenth century, reform and development of the British electoral system had inaugurated a new style of mass politics which fundamentally transformed the face of the British party system. This book traces the evolution of recognisably modern parties from their roots in the 1880s through half a century of dramatic change in organisational structure, electoral competition and constitutional thought.In the House of Commons the Labour Party replaced the Liberals as the radical answer to the Conservative Party. In the country at large the complex web of Victorian social, regional and religious allegiances gave way to a cruder but more dynamic model of modern political loyalties.The transformation at Westminster and in the constituencies is surveyed in relation to changes to the franchise (including the vote for women), class consciousness, political organisation and doctrine. The comprehensive account explains the varying fortunes of the parties in the face of mass democracy, collectivism, the First World War and economic uncertainty. It also provides a critical insight into the debates and conflicts of interpretation which surround this pivotal period in British political history.

Acknowledgements XI1 Introduction 1Notes and references 42 Development of the electoral system before 1914 62.1 The Franchise and Redistribution Acts, 1884-1885 62.2 The elimination of corruption and intimidation 102.3 The franchise in Britain after 1885: 'Democracytempered by registration' 13Notes and references 183 The rise of modern party organisation 213.1 Extra-parliamentary organisation 223.2 Linking the grassroots to the leaders: the National Unionand the Liberal caucus 283.3 The emergence of a central party bureaucracy 313.4 Discipline and control in the parliamentary parties 343.5 The rise of national campaigning, manifestos andprogrammatic politics 36Notes and references 384 Party realignment and Unionist ascendancy, 1885-1905 414.1 Gladstonian Liberalism and the schism of 1886 414.2 Liberal malaise, 1886-1902 444.3 Liberals, Labour and the birth of the Progressive Alliance 504.4 Lord Salisbury and the Unionist alliance 554.5 Unionist decline and Liberal revival, 1900-1906 61Notes and references 645 The challenge of New Liberalism, 1906-1914 695.1 The reformulation of Liberalism 695.2 The conversion of the Liberal party 715.3 Liberals and the politics of taxation 745.4 Unionist crisis and the politics of taxation, 1906-1910 77 viii Contents5.5 Labour, the Progressive Alliance and the New Liberalism 805.6 Rumours of a 'Strange Death', 1910-1914 845.7 The electorate and the New Liberalism 885.8 Conclusion: the significance of the New Liberalism 92Notes and references 946 War and the party system 996.1 Liberalism divided 996.2 Liberal ideology and the strains of war 1056.3 Conservatism and the challenge of war 1096.4 Collapse of the Progressive Alliance and Labour's bid forindependence 1126.5 Labour, 'socialism' and the impact of war 1156.6 The 'coupon' election of December 1918 118Notes and references 1207 The Lloyd George Coalition, 1918-1922 1247.1 The impact of Labour 1247 .2 Coalition, reconstruction and resistance to socialism 1277.3 Slump and the destruction of 'national unity' 1297.4 Anti-socialist 'fusion' and the realignment of thecentre-right 1327.5 The fall of the Coalition 133Notes and references 1388 Three-party confusion in the 1920s 1408.1 Explanations for party realignment 1408.2 The 'franchise factor' and the Fourth Reform Act of 1918 1428.3 The organisational factor in Labour rise and Liberal decline 1468.4 Labour, Liberals and the battle of ideas 1498.5 The impact of the first Labour government 1568.6 The foundations of Conservative electoral hegemony 1598. 7 The 1929 election: the end of the three-party era 168Notes and references 1719 The National Governments 1769.1 The party crisis, 1929-1931 1769 .2 The political crisis and the National Government 1799.3 The character of the National Government 1839 .4 The collapse of independent Liberalism 1889.5 Labour responses to 1931: leadership, power and organisation 1899.6 Labour's ideological response to 1931 1919.7 Party politics and the 'impact of Hitler' 1959.8 The failure of political extremism in the 1930s 1979. 9 Electoral competition and the onset of war 199Notes and references 202 Select BibliographyGeneral background historiesThe electoral systemParty development and managementElections and electoral behaviourParty histories: the ConservativesThe Labour partyThe Liberal partyExtremist partiesCoalition and 'National Government'Party doctrine and thoughtIndex